Fostyr for architects & engineers
Every project came from a relationship. Keep the ones that send the next one.
A builder who brings you every custom home. A developer who needs a stamp on every phase. A realtor whose buyers want an addition. A client from four years ago who is finally doing the second house. Those relationships are the firm. Fostyr keeps them, with every project, and tells you when one has gone quiet.
Where the work comes from for an architecture or engineering firm
Builders and general contractors
A builder who trusts your drawings brings the client to you, not the other way around.
Developers
One developer is a decade of phases if the first one went well.
Real estate agents
Every buyer wants the wall moved. The agent hands them a name.
Past clients and other firms
The second house, the office, the friend. And the firm that sends what it doesn't do.
What goes wrong without a system
The developer who moved on
Three phases over four years. The project manager on their side changed. The next phase went to the firm the new manager already knew.
The builder you never checked in with
A builder sent you two custom homes, then nothing for a year. Nobody called to ask why. They had a new architect.
The principal's rolodex
The founding partner knows everyone. The relationships are in that one head, and the firm's continuity depends on it.
Project software that forgets the source
Your project management system knows the phases, the hours and the invoices. It cannot tell you which builder sent the most work or that a developer hasn't called since spring.
Where to start, with no software and no plan
List who sends the projects
Builders, developers, realtors, past clients, other firms. A count beside each name. That list is the business development plan, and it takes an afternoon.
Connect the inbox; bring the project list
Every thread with every builder is already in your mail. Connect it once. Export the project list and drop it in; the referrers get their counts.
Call the ones going quiet
The builder who sent three projects last year and none this year gets a call this month. Fostyr surfaces them; the principal makes the call.
Make the check-in a rhythm
Every referrer gets a quarterly touch: a project you finished, a code change that matters to them, lunch. Every finished project gets a one-year note.
How Fostyr fits an architecture or engineering firm
Hub: Who is waiting on you, and which builder has gone quiet.
The morning: the developer who asked for a fee proposal, the builder who hasn't sent a project in ninety days, the client who just replied about the second house. Ask Fostyr which referrer sent the most projects last year.
Relationships: Every builder, developer, agent and client, with every project.
Each has a journey: projects, emails, calls, the notes from every partner and project architect who dealt with them. A grade shows who actually sends work. A developer holds its project managers, so a change on their side keeps the history.
Workspace: Email, calendar and follow-ups, attached to the people.
A thread from a builder lands on the builder. The one-year check-in sits beside the finished project. Templates for the proposal is attached, the set is issued, thank you for the introduction.
Marketing: Check-ins, visits and reviews, on a cadence.
Rhythms for the quarterly referrer touch and the after-project follow-up. A route for the builders and brokerages you visit. Reviews and photos asked for when the client moves in.
Connections: Your inbox fills it in; your project list comes with you.
Connect Gmail and the threads attach themselves. Bring your project export in and every referrer gets their history. Use a practice management system we don't connect to yet? Tell us at setup and we'll help you bring your data over.
What marketing means for an architecture or engineering firm
Marketing for a design firm is the builder relationship
Awards and a portfolio site bring admiration. A builder who trusts you brings the client. Spend the effort on the ten builders and developers who send the most, and on meeting the next ten.
The finished project is the campaign
Photos, a case study, a thank-you to whoever sent it, and a note to the client at a year. Every finished project should produce the next one.
The quarterly touch is the difference
Firms lose builders between projects, not during them. A quarterly call or lunch with each referrer is the whole business-development budget, and it is mostly time.
Questions architects & engineers ask
- How do I grow an architecture or engineering firm?
- Through the builders, developers, agents and past clients who send projects repeatedly. Growth is meeting more of them, keeping the ones you have, and noticing quickly when one goes quiet. Fostyr is built around that list.
- How do I get referrals from builders and developers?
- Deliver drawings a builder can build from without calls, respond the same day, hold the schedule, and stay in touch between projects. The last part is where most firms lose the next phase. Fostyr tells you which builders have gone quiet.
- What does marketing mean for a small design firm?
- Mostly relationships: the builders, developers and agents who bring clients. A portfolio and photos support it. Fostyr keeps the relationship side on a cadence so it happens between deadlines.
- What software does an architecture firm need for business development?
- A project and time system for the work, and a relationship system for the people who send it. Fostyr is the second one. It reads your inbox and takes your project list so the referrers and their history fill in without data entry.
- Is Fostyr a CRM for architects and engineers?
- It is a relationship system rather than a sales pipeline. It tracks the builders, developers, agents and clients behind your projects, with their whole history, and nudges you before one fades.
- How much does Fostyr cost?
- $200 a month for your core team of up to five, then $35 a month per additional person, with a thirty-day trial and no card required.
Pricing
$200 a month for your core team of up to five, then $35 a month per additional person. Thirty-day trial, no card required.